Start an Animal SanctuaryHow to Help Animals

One of the best things I have ever done was my volunteer work at an animal sanctuary in the UK (where I used to live). I had always loved animals and I was a vegetarian at the time, but it was the time spent at the sanctuary that made it clear to me that one day I wanted to run my own sanctuary. I had no idea that it would be here in NSW Australia, but I knew that I wanted to make helping animals my life.

For anyone who is considering making saving animals their life, it is a great idea to spend some time volunteering. Not only can you help a charity and gain valuable hands on experience with animals, but you can also get an idea of whether the sanctuary lifestyle is really for you. Volunteering can be a real eye opener. It shows you the good, such as when an animal is placed in a wonderful home, or when you are able to offer refuge to stray animals and the bad, such as when animals fall ill, or die. You can also see the huge costs involved in food, care, shelter and veterinary treatment.

The sanctuary I volunteered at was fairly small, but was a wonderful refuge to many animals. There were around 70 cats, rabbits, rats, chinchillas, geese, chickens, ducks, 2 white donkeys Ivy and Noel and Dennis, the naughty Shetland pony. We also had a wonderful Jersey cow named Annabel. There were only ever a few dogs at a time, but the dogs that came in were all placed in wonderful new homes.

I usually helped out (along with my best friend Melissa) in the morning and our first job was to clean out around 5o cat litter trays (some cats shared). That was a smelly way to start the day, but once all the animals were clean, fed and watered it felt wonderful and we would start on the huge pile of washing up.

After all the daily chores we would enjoy walking the dogs, or making play areas for the chinchillas or rabbits. It was a really great time.

I have also volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary, horse sanctuary and I have helped out with admin work at the offices of various animal rights organizations.

If you would like to volunteer for an animal sanctuary or animal rights organization do a Google search for your local groups. For example, if you live in Sydney you could search for: ‘Sydney animal sanctuary’. Then take a look through the results and see whether any websites come up that offer volunteer opportunities. If you know of smaller organizations that may not have a website, just contact them by phone and ask if they would like any help. Even if you only have one day free a week, you could make a difference to a charity and gain experience.

This year I am busy working my butt off, saving for a deposit for the farm sanctuary I plan to set up, but I would also like to gain a little more experience. I know there is an RSPCA shelter near me, which would accept volunteers, but I plan to research to see whether there are any other organizations around the area.

The RSPCA do some things differently than I would. I worked briefly at another branch of the RSPCA and although I saw many animals come in and find new and happy homes I also saw many things that disturbed me. Examples included purposefully giving volunteers grotty jobs (like dealing with dead animals), so as not to have to bother to teach them properly and putting healthy animals to sleep when there was still room in the shelter.

I am sure other branches of the RSPCA would not treat volunteers so badly, as usually volunteers are highly valued and relied upon by these organizations.

If you do want to volunteer at an RSPCA branch you could begin to make a difference from the inside and perhaps help the animals. There are many staff within the RSPCA that care deeply for animals. However it only takes a few people (especially if they are managers, or in a powerful position) to well and truly mess things up.

If you are a volunteer leave a comment and let us know what you have been doing. If you cannot commit to running your own animal sanctuary, volunteering or fostering rescued animals could be a great way to help animals, whilst you continue on your own path.

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